


31 Losses - Haikyuu Fanfic Oneshot

by Parahelion



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot, Requited Love, Requited love for the alternate ending, Romance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-08 11:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7755394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parahelion/pseuds/Parahelion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As far as Kageyama Tobio knows, the tally of his scores are 31 wins, 30 losses, and 1 draw against Hinata Shouyou... until romance turns the tables on the King of the Court.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is also available in wattpad under the same username :) Just so people won't be confused. I decided to upload it here because this seemed like a more appropriate venue and it's open unlike in wattpad where you still need to have an account to be able to read it. Hope you enjoy~

**A/N:**

**This is a raw and unedited, freshly served KageYacHinata fanfic so sorry in advance for grammatical, semantic, and sentence structure mistakes. The song above, Suki Dakara, served as an inspiration for this fanfic together with the doujinshi entitled Canon of Lies by Bubunhanten - Kazuki Rai.**

**Disclaimer:**

**All characters are fictional and are owned by Furudate Haruichi-sensei only.**

**~~~~**

_Having a hard time catching his breath, Kageyama had a harder time speaking through his wildly thrashing heart,_

_"That makes... 31 wins... and 30 losses... for me... And one draw..."_

_"That's not right." Hinata countered with an unreadable expression on his face._

_Kageyama was quick to react, "It is right! I won!"_

_Looking solemn, Hinata insisted,_

_"I've won 30 times, and that was my 32nd loss."_

~~~

Around late noon during a practice in the gym, Kageyama was sitting deep in thought with a volleyball in his hands. The sounds of rubber shoes squeaking against the polished wooden floors, the _fabam_ the balls made as they were spiked by Tanaka and the others, the voices of other members chattering and shouting "Nice kill!" or "Nice serve!" or "Nice receive!" all meshed into a lulling buzz against Kageyama's ears as he mused,

'These days, when Yachi-san has been coming to the gym, Hinata and I have been finding ourselves at a daze more often. When we asked Tanaka-san and Noya-san about it, they gave us a mix of answers that we never really understood except Shimizu-san's name that they randomly uttered somewhere while they proudly talked.'

Kageyama spun the volleyball in his grip, then went to toy around with it against the floor instead of tossing,

'..Do we find Yachi-san cute? Maybe it's because she comes in together with Kiyoko-san every time... Maybe it's actually Kiyoko-san that we're paying attention to? ...No, that can't be. It's annoying but Hinata and I are all ' _fuwa-fuwa_ ' when Yachi-san is around–'

Hinata's voice broke through the haze of Kageyama's thoughts,

"So, I've been thinking about the things Tanaka-senpai and Nishinoya-senpai told us the other day..."

 _'Him too?'_ Kageyama thought in surprise.

"Hmm... Do you really think we're becoming like Tanaka-san and Noya-san 2.0?"

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Kageyama caught the ball single-handedly before slapping his other palm on it with a resounding whack, earning an "Ihh!!" from Hinata as the latter panickedly withdrew a few steps back.

"I... I meant, towards Yachi-san–..."

All the while, Hinata can't seem to make eye contact with Kageyama, staring into the distance as he distractedly scratched the back of his head, before his fidgeting abruptly stopped and his jaws went slack. That could only mean one thing...

Kageyama followed the direction Hinata was looking at to see Yachi-san entering the gym with Kiyoko-san, as the two girls brought some gym equipment towards the storage room for safe-keeping.

No doubt, Kiyoko-san exudes this ero-ero feel and is really sexy, but when it came to Yachi-san... Kageyama can't help staring at Yachi-san's soft-looking, flaxen hair. Kageyama also thought fondly about Yachi-san's height, her eagerness to help, and her manner of attending dutifully to the tasks Kiyoko-san assigns to her as a novice manager...

Noticing that his thoughts were getting out of control, Kageyama focused on Hinata only to see the other with this stupid expression on his face. Kageyama grimaced and thought over things too much again, worrying about what kind of face he shows when it came to thinking about Yachi-san...

"...yama... Oi! Kageyama!!!"

It was Hinata who broke his concentration towards worrying again, which irritated Kageyama, and he responded with a sinister,

"Haah??"

Fazed, Hinata jumped back and took a few steps more away from Kageyama, putting his hands in front of him in this clumsy looking fighting stance and blathering,

"Wh-What? You wanna fight??"

At Hinata's stupid antics, Kageyama donned an indifferent expression on his face complete with his signiture hooded eyes, to which Hinata relaxed before continuing,

"Anyway, toss."

Kageyama tilted his head a bit, as if the idea never crossed his head.

Hinata reiterated, "Send some tosses my way. Practice isn't over yet."

Kageyama recovered his bearings and followed after the smaller, fiery haired middle blocker

"Right."

~~~

Surprisingly, on his early morning jog, the one on Kageyama's mind that day wasn't the obnoxious carrot head that could spike his quicks, but their chibi, golden haired, over-thinker of a novice manager. How both him and Hinata act towards her...

'I can't really wrap my mind around it.' Kageyama finally, frustratedly admitted under his breath.

'When it actually came to it, it's amazingly easier to count off her unusual traits than what could be considered her good qualities... Say, for example, her overthinking and overreacting. At first, it might tick one off, but it eventually grows on you after awhile.'

'There're the weird faces she makes as she cheers us on for matches too.

...that, too...

...and that too...'

Fortunately, he thinks that that little matter isn't really going to be much of a distraction, what with the Harukou creeping up right around the corner.

Speak of the devil, Yachi-san appeared after taking a turn at an intersection and before he could put much thought into it, Kageyama called out her name and caught up to her.

"Ah, Kageyama-kun! Ohayou!"

"'hayou..." Kageyama swallowed his hesitation and continued to ask,

"What brings you here?"

But right after the words tumbled their way out of Kageyama's mouth did he just start to stop and think about what he just said.

 _'What brings you here..._ Seriously, _What. Brings. You. Here?_ ' Kageyama nitpicked, 'That sounds like a dumb way to start a conversation! Come to think of it, I've been acting out of character these past few days. What made me go out of my way to join Yachi-san for a walk and actually participate in mindless chitchatting with her?'

Looking at his open palms, Kageyama's fingers fiddled as he wondered,

'Is Hinata's idiocy actually contagious?'

Startled to find himself zoning out again, he cleared his mind and Kageyama's posture noticeably became straighter, though it was already too late since he missed most of Yachi-san's reply. His consciousness absorbed words like 'supply' and 'stomach ache medicines' though so he at least had a bit of luxury to relax.

Then came the dreaded follow-up question,

"Ne, Kageyama-kun, what about you?"

For a split second, Kageyama froze and excuses after excuses started to play out in his head. Deciding against it, Kageyama just considered the benefits in the long run and went to tell Yachi-san about his true motives; that he raised his personal training regimen up a notch because he doesn't plan on losing to Hinata who's like a rolling ball of athletic reflexes.

"Ah... Is that so?..."

A period of silence spread between the two of them after, a period during which the genius setter had a hard time determining what the situation should be called. Is it awkward or is it something else? Should he have answered or should he not have? Should he continue talking or should he have found a convenient way to exit right about now? Randomly deciding on something, it is at that moment that both of them spoke at the same time. At this, Kageyama blanched while Yachi-san blushed furiously. Not wanting to prolong the embarrassing moment any further, the setter was quick to offer the lead to the other.

"D-Douzo."

Nervously laughing, "Ie, Ie. Kageyama-kun, you first," Yachi-san insisted.

"Ano sa..." The setter stalled.

'Better something than nothing to talk about!' Kageyama convinced himself.

"What do you think of Hinata?"

'On second thought, why talk about _him_ of all things to talk about?!' Kageyama vehemently berated himself in his mind. 'At the moment though,' he tried to justify, 'Hinata seemed relevant...'

A few seconds passed before the setter noticed that he was walking alone. Looking back at the direction he came from, he wasn't quite prepared for what he saw and that snapping feeling in his chest confused him even more.

Tears marring her smiling face, Yachi-san's voice trembled as she told the conflicted setter,

"Ne, Kageyama-kun... Can you keep a secret?"

~~~

After buying themselves something warm to drink and finding a bench to settle down on, it was quite a while before Yachi-san composed herself to talk about what was weighing her down.

"For first impressions, I already had an idea that Karasuno High School's Boy's Volleyball Club was filled with people that are like 'kira-kira'..."

' _Kira-kira_?...' Kageyama pondered, 'So Hinata IS contagious!', but the setter never let himself drift away further than that, determined to listen to whatever Yachi-san was ready to let out.

"...Shimizu-san is very beautiful too! Her hair looks soft and silky. The mole by her mouth is sexy. Others were totally staring at her too!! _Bishi_!!!

"The first time she introduced me to you guys, since I stood beside her for like, two minutes, I was even afraid her fans would kill me afterwards. But that feeling is nothing like when I met Hinata-kun for the first time. When you guys asked me for help with English, telling me your stories... For me, I guess you could say meeting him felt like being left in direct sunlight for too long."

A lock of Yachi-san's blonde hair slid off from the crook of her ear and when she came to tuck it back in, Kageyama didn't even notice himself following every little motion the novice manager's lithe little fingers made. He was aware that his own fingers felt stiff though and was questioning it in his mind.

"...He's just too different from who I used to be... From the self that I'm still changing from...

"See, I've never really been serious about anything before... I've never tried anything on my own or have anyone need me for anything, so when Hinata-kun kept asking me to become a manager, I was really happy.

"But I couldn't accept the position easily, because I still had my doubts. It's because my Okaa-san told me that joining passionate people when I wasn't going to give it my all would be the rudest thing to do to you guys.

"It might sound cold, but I'm really grateful that she told me that way. I wouldn't want to hear it in any other way because, you see, what she told me may have been the truth. At the time, all I really had were my impulse and my curiosity. I didn't know a single thing about volleyball too, nor did I have any experience, so I was very sure I'd just get in the way.

"Shimizu-senpai is kind though. She helped me clear my thoughts up when she told me that things I start up on a whim may end up becoming important to me too, and that to start on things, all one needed was just a little bit of curiosity. For her, my curiosity was enough, but her words weren't enough to sway me."

The setter has been looking at his still untouched, steaming cup for a while now; he wasn't sure if he was still listening attentively. At this point, Kageyama was trying very hard not to yawn out of respect for the novice manager. It's just that the hot chocolate felt too cozily warm against his frozen fingertips, he was almost tempted to snuggle with the cup if he could.

"Who would have thought that Hinata-kun's simple words were all it would take for me to finally do it? All my worries and anxieties were reduced to nothing in the face of Hinata's determination. He told me to just tell my Okaa-san. I just have to tell her, simply because I wanted to do it. When I told him my reasons, what seemed like complex problems for me became petty fears in front of him.

"...Ano ne, I'm really thankful to Hinata. He made me realize that for me to be able to move forward, I needed to change from my worthless self, because townsperson B has its own kind of awesomeness too.

"Townsperson B can fight too!

"I just needed to have more confidence in myself and to follow my heart.

"Demo... I'm a hypocrite, see? Because I did something unforgivable, despite what Hinata-kun taught me."

The tremor in her voice was unmistakable. Kageyama couldn't find it in himself to turn his head and look though. It was as if his neck was suddenly made of immovable concrete.

"Kageyama-kun, do you know what I see when I look at Hinata-kun, especially when he receives tosses from you?

"...Hinata-kun shines so brightly when he plays volleyball.

"It's not only his determination I admire, I'm also awed at his drive to succeed and improve. At first, I didn't even know why he could try so hard and get fired up just for a practice game. Then again, he showed me how my seemingly complicated anxieties really only had such simple answers to them.

"You don't really need a reason to not lose... Right?" Yachi-san's voice cracked at the end.

"I've considered those besides Hinata's innate abilities, of course. And because of that, I want to be able to protect Hinata and his volleyball as Karasuno's Boy's Volleyball Club's manager.

"Dakara..."

The setter was sure the waterworks were starting. The tremors overwhelmed the volume of Yachi-san's voice, so much that she almost sounded too faint.

"Dakara sa... Even though I should just tell him because I feel it, I must... never tell him... that I... l-like... 'im..."

Kageyama's grip on his hot choco's papercup was gradually getting tighter and tighter, he was scared the cup's sides would collapse and scald his bare hands with the steaming drink, but he had another fear that he couldn't quite put his finger on. When he looked at Yachi-san's crying face, crystal tears slowly tracing her reddened cheeks, his fear got worse at the fact that he doesn't even know why he was feeling that fear.

"...Because I j-just... c-can't be that selfish..."

'...What is this feeling?...' the genius setter questioned himself till the very end, till the golden haired manager's tears came to a stand still, till she hastily bid him goodbye and he was standing alone, purposeless near a bench in a park he couldn't care to remember.

~~~

"You really saved us this time!" Hinata's cheerful voice pierced through the palpable tension only Kageyama seemed to be aware of, "Yachi-san, thank you for teaching us on a weekend again–"

Noticing his partner's moroseness, the red-headed middle blocker turned to his genius setter, "Na, Kageyama, you tell her too–"

Unsuccessfully avoiding Hinata's jab at his side, the setter stumbled on his words, "Th-Thanks."

"Ie. It was nothing." Yachi-san smiled, and for Kageyama it was almost too blinding.

Still, the setter couldn't quite believe that the person in front of him now was the same person he saw cry one certain morning; Kageyama almost thought he maybe could've dreamt the whole incident itself. Subtle acts though, like Yachi-san physically distancing herself a little further away from the oblivious middle blocker than usual, her eyes that kept going back to the floor every time Hinata has his back turned, the slight shaking of her voice at some point, and how she couldn't even meet the setter's eyes all served as signs affirming that the incident Kageyama witnessed that day had, indeed, happened.

Last pleasantries were exchanged before they were finally going on their way.

"Bye-bye..." Yachi-san waved, but their backs were already turned, their forms gradually getting smaller, already being swallowed by the setting sun.

Eventually, when they were gone, Yachi-san let her smile crack a little and let pain dilute the supposed mirth that her amber eyes seemed to glow with.

~~~

"Uwaaah... Yachi-san's notes are really amazing!" Hinata kept on saying as he raised his notebook up to cover against the sunset's glare and went to examine the lectures he copied again, "Notes should always be like this! They're so easy to understand, it makes me even happier that Kiyoko-san got her to be our manager..."

Not liking the fact that his company was spacing out on him, Hinata asked the setter in a louder voice, "Ne, Kageyama, don't you think so too?"

"Ah," the setter finally agreed, but he was speaking in a really flat tone.

Not really surprised by the other's demeanor anymore, the fiery headed chibisuki still felt a little irked that the setter couldn't be more enthusiastic about the fact that they already have two managers. Now they look like a champion school! ...right? And so, the little crow jested under his breath,

"Geez, you never agree with anything! ...You're not very popular, are you?"

Turning his head the other way to hide his smile, Hinata was delighted despite the goosebumps that burst on his arms when he heard a very furious and intimidating "Haah??!" from the King of the Court.

'Got your attention now, didn't I?' Hinata fist-pumped in his mind before continuing,

"Yachi-san's very diligent too! She's always ready to help; always there to offer her assistance in any way she can, it even came to the point that it was almost funny. Remember the time she offered us the balls like they were something to drink? Hahaha! That was..."

When Yachi-san was mentioned again, Kageyama gradually calmed down despite his initial urge to grip the shrimpo's head with one hand and squeeze it tight till it was reduced to a pulp. Lately too, Kageyama noticed that Hinata's tendency to drone on and on about Karasuno's Boy's Volleyball Club's two managers became more frequent, resulting in the carrot headed middle blocker to stick around Noya-san and Tanaka-san more often than usual. Sure, the genius setter felt alienated. He agrees with the libero and the wing spiker on a lot of things, but he refuses to be their clones. So, he makes sure to stay well away from them especially when Hinata's on a roll to talk about having two managers again.

"...Oi! Kageyama, are you listen–"

"You like Yachi-san, don't you?"

"Gu- wuohh??!"

The alien sound that soon followed after was confirmation enough for Kageyama, giving him enough conviction to skirt his way through the next excuses that rolled their way out of Hinata's mouth in a heap of innumerable tangles and knots. The genius setter became determined enough to completely shut out the alien feeling blooming in his chest too.

"Stop giving me those shitty lies. I meant romantically, of course."

Despite his ruddy cheeks, Hinata stubbornly stalled, "What are you getting at?"

Letting out a very tired sounding gust of breath, the Kageyama proceeded to drive his point home.

"Lately, you've always been Yachi-san this, Yachi-san that. You already couldn't contain yourself enough when you're playing volleyball, but you're even more hyper in front of Yachi-san. Yes, your eyes follow the ball so well it's almost like bees to their honey, but when Yachi-san comes in, the ball's got nothing against her–"

Dumbfounded, Hinata struggled to move his jaws to speak, "Wh-Wha— I don't stare– !"

"Yes, you do stare!" Kageyama cut him off, "You've been doing that a lot every time we practice; don't tell me you aren't even aware of yourself?!"

After Kageyama finished saying those words, it wasn't only the short middle blocker who was stunned into silence, but the King of the Court himself as well. Somehow, the setter felt as if he impaled himself with his own sword instead.

At that point, Hinata's face was already flushed red up to the tips of his ears. The next time the middle blocker spoke, he talked in a manner that's so soft, he was like that of a scolded child.

"Bu–, She– I..." Frustrated that he started off by stammering, Hinata rubbed his face and tried to get his self together.

"I can't." Hinata said, almost dragging out the syllables defeatedly.

At that, Kageyama initially felt an incomprehensible relief, a sensation like a weight falling off his shoulders, but Yachi-san's pained expression from last time momentarily flashed into his mind and his resolution was solidified. The setter was almost surprised at how hostile his next words sounded,

"What do you mean _you can't_?!!"

"I-It would be unfair... Especially to her. She's important to me, but... volleyball is, too. Kageyama, I'm sure you understand me on that. I don't think I'll be able to give her a straight answer once she asks me about what's more important for me." The short middle blocker scrubbed the side of his head in vexation, "In fact, right now, I can't even choose what's more important for me between the two."

Hinata's conflict struck the setter hard like lightning made of ice. Kageyama was very much grateful that he wasn't in the middleblocker's position right now. The setter doesn't know what kept him going though.

"It shouldn't have to be about what's more important to you between the two. You simply like volleyball AND Yachi-san. Is that not allowed?"

"Y-Yes! ...no." Hinata blabbered.

' _Yes, no?_ ' Kageyama mused, 'What does he really want to say?'

The next things the little crow said were all a bunch of tongue-tied words and stutters, so Kageyama cut to the chase,

"Arrgh! Just tell me how you feel around Yachi-san!"

"E-Ehh??" Hinata hesitated, but Kageyama's intimidating face made him go on, "...Eto... When I'm around Yachi-san, my heart thumps really hard like _doki-doki!"_

'Doki-doki?' Kageyama silently repeated, unwittingly clutching at his chest.

"Before matches, my heart beats hard every time too but it's heavier, like _do-gun, do-gun!_ And I can even hear my blood rushing in my ears, like _guuohh..._ "

The setter nodded imperceptibly. The shorty definitely knows what's he's talking about.

"Around Yachi-san, I can hear my blood rushing too, but it's more of the peaceful kind, like _shaaa..._ "

'Shaaa...?' The setter's trying to be as understanding as much as possible, but it's undeniable that the shrimpo's genius-speak was already getting on Kageyama's nerves.

"...Oh! And, you know how I get nervous before every match that my stomach becomes upset like _furu-furu~ furu-furu~_? I feel it when I'm around Yachi-san too, but it's not so unpleasant that I'd need to rush to the toilet—"

"Oi!" The King of the Court barked in irritation, "Just speak in a language that humans could understand!"

Hinata squeaked and stepped back a distance, gauging the setter's mood before continuing, "W-Well... My feelings towards volleyball and towards Yachi-san are completely different!"

"There." The King of the Court uttered in a clipped manner.

Clueless to what the other meant, the little crow tilted his head, asking, "Huh?"

"You have your answer." Kageyama monotonously elaborated.

He lost his calm when Hinata just stood still.

" _Aho ka?!_ What are you still doing here?! When do you plan to confess??! _Boke!!_ "

Flinching into action after realizing what the setter meant, the short middle blocker crouched and took long deep breaths to calm himself and to muster enough courage. Slapping his face with both of his palms, Hinata decided, "Okay, Let's do this!"

Remembering Yachi-san's crying face once more, Kageyama resolutely encouraged the spirited middle blocker, "Go now!! You better find her and make her happy, Hinata _boke_!!!"

"I know that much without you having to tell me, Bakayama!" was the little crow's last retort as he sprinted away.

~~~

When Hinata reached Yachi-san's house, he must have punched the doorbell a hundred times already but no one was answering.

'Maybe no one's home right now?' Hinata wondered on the side while his fingers shook with nerves as he was dialing the novice manager's number.

A voice which made him feel like he was walking on clouds answered after the fifth ring,

"Konnichiwa~."

"Yachi-san! Where are you?"

"Ehh? Hinata-kun?"

"I'm in front of your house right now. Where are you?"

"Ah! Did you forget something??"

"No, but I _do_ have something important that I need to tell you."

At the silence that followed, Hinata took it as his cue to continue speaking, not regarding _that_ matter since he thought it would be better for him to be there to say it personally, so he just asked,

"Where are you? Are you at the station?? Did you see your Okaa-san off??"

"I-Ie. I did take a walk towards the station but..."

'So she walked?' Hinata worried, 'Did she walk alone? Is she safe?'

"...I just needed to think, so I stopped at the very first Taiyaki shop on the way back–"

"Did you just say 'taiyaki'??" Hinata's eyes shone with stars at the thought of a fish-shaped, chocolate filled delicacy.

"Ehh? Ah, h-hai..." came Yachi-san's reply from the other end, sounding quite helplessly baffled.

Hinata almost drooled at the thought of food after running for a long distance, but he got himself together and focused on the most important thing he wanted to do right at that moment.

"Yachi-san, just wait there! Don't go anywhere. I'll come find you."

Hinata apologetically hung up on the golden-haired manager before the first wave of her protests and questions even got their way through, then dashed towards the direction of the station without a second thought.

The carrot head of a middle blocker never let his fighting spirit wane despite a lot of Taiyaki shops he got to without seeing sight of short golden hair clipped by stars on the side anywhere. On the contrary, for each of the Taiyaki shop he mistook Yachi-san to be in, his concentration to find her only grew more and more intense each time.

He must have been to 11 Taiyaki shops or so before he finally found his flaxen-haired muse.

"Hinata!" Yachi-san called out to Karasuno's number 10 and rushed towards his side, readily carrying a bottle of water and her handkerchief.

As she dabbed the sweat from his face and repeatedly offered him to drink from the water bottle, Hinata's bright laughter bypassed the manager's sputtered worries and anxious remarks.

"Yachi-san—" Hinata started but the novice manager still hasn't stopped worrying about him.

"What are we going to do if you hurt yourself?? ...Suffering a serious injury, your volleyball career gets cut short... You become unfamous, and poor..."

"Yachi-san, listen to me—" Hinata tried again, but the result was the same.

"...Since you have no money, you're forced to live on the streets... You look for food in the trash... Maybe even having to sell your organs??!"

"Hitoka-chan!"

At hearing her given name, the novice manager snapped to attention; her ears turning into scarlet roses.

Hinata started again, gentler this time,

"Hitoka...

"...I like you."

~~~

Somehow, Kageyama had slowly known that his last words were hollow as he watched Hinata sprint to the direction where they came from... the direction where the shadows the setting sun made converged, as if to beckon the setter to follow. But he could only imagine what happened afterwards, because he decided to let his feet remain rooted to the ground.

How does Yachi-san look right now?

After hearing that aho's feeling's... Would her hands fall limp to her sides? Would she shyly tuck a lock of her golden hair at the back of one of her ears? How rosy are her rosy cheeks? Would her eyes bow into upturned crescrents and flash with this shiny film before gravity wins, and her tears race down her smooth cheeks like falling stars?

How...

How does Yachi-san look with an unbroken smile?

...Wanting her to be happy... Feeling frustrated by her troubles... Quietly watching over her during the day... Finding her flaws to be endearing... Hushing her fears... Even doing whatever it took to support her...

"Kuso..." Kageyama cursed under his breath.

This...

What this is...

"Kuso!!!" Kageyama cursed louder this time, unwelcome drops of water flowing down his face.

_Ai_

_-_ _love_

_\- to hold dear, a feeling of strong or constant affection for another_

"Just this once..." Kageyama spoke through clenched teeth, "I'll let you win just this once!"

"I WON'T LOSE NEXT TIME, HINATA BOKE!!!" the King of the Court shouted to the skies and screamed at the setting sun, before breaking out into a run. He headed opposite the direction of where Hinata ran back to... leaving only stirred dust in his wake.

~~~

_KAGEYAMA_

_31 Wins_

_1 draw_

_31 LOSSES_

 

**A/N:**

**Aaaand that's it!!! XD**

**Guys, how was it?? Will you please give me honest and helpful constructive criticism? This is my first time doing a fanfic so please be patient with me~ ^ ^ I'll try to understand each character's personalities further so that I can create more fanfics that are in character in the future.**

**Thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Don't forget to comment and kudos if you think this Haikyuu!! FanFic deserves it~ :)**


	2. What if?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King of the Court loses to... an unexpected Love?!!
> 
> This is an alternate ending ^ ^ (shout out to believers of parallel universes out there)!
> 
> It's not essential to the story but you can always entertain yourselves with this extra if you want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to @iamtrishacom (from wattpad)  
> <3 <3!

**WARNING**

**(I don't want to spoil the following so I'm not going to tell you. But you've -- somehow -- been warned.)**

~~~~~~~

"...Oi! Kageyama, are you listen–"

"You like Yachi-san, don't you?"

"Gu- wuohh??!"

The alien sound that soon followed after was confirmation enough for Kageyama, giving him enough conviction to skirt his way through the next excuses that rolled their way out of Hinata's mouth in a heap of innumerable tangles and knots. 

The genius setter became determined enough to completely shut out the alien feeling blooming in his chest too.

"Stop giving me those shitty lies. I meant romantically, of course."

Despite his ruddy cheeks, Hinata stubbornly stalled, "What are you getting at?"

Letting out a very tired sounding gust of breath, Kageyama proceeded to drive his point home.

"Lately, you've always been Yachi-san this, Yachi-san that. You already couldn't contain yourself enough when you're playing volleyball, but you're even more hyper in front of Yachi-san. Yes, your eyes follow the ball so well it's almost like bees to their honey, but when Yachi-san comes in, the ball's got nothing against her–"

Dumbfounded, Hinata struggled to move his jaws to speak, "Wh-Wha— I don't stare– !"

"Yes, you do stare!" Kageyama cut him off, "You've been doing that a lot every time we practice; don't tell me you aren't even aware of yourself?!"

After Kageyama finished saying those words, it wasn't only the short middle blocker who was stunned into silence, but the King of the Court himself as well. Somehow, the setter felt as if he impaled himself with his own sword instead.

At that point, Hinata's face was already flushed red up to the tips of his ears. The next time the middle blocker spoke, he talked in a manner that's so soft, he was like that of a scolded child.

Bu–, She– I..." Frustrated that he started off by stammering, Hinata rubbed his face and tried to get his self together.

"I can't." Hinata said, almost dragging out the syllables defeatedly.

At that, Kageyama initially felt an incomprehensible relief, a sensation like a weight falling off his shoulders, but Yachi-san's pained expression from last time momentarily flashed into his mind and his resolution was solidified. The setter was almost surprised at how hostile his next words sounded,

"What do you mean _you can't_?!!"

Helplessly clutching his head, Hinata flusteredly replied,

 

"I meant--! It's not like that at all!! 

"Why do you think my heart thumps really hard like _doki-doki?!_ " Hinata gestured with his hands wildly.

'Doki-doki?' Kageyama silently repeated, unwittingly clutching at his chest.

"Before matches, my heart beats hard every time too but it's heavier, like _do-gun, do-gun!_ And I can even hear my blood rushing in my ears, like _guuohh..._ "

The setter nodded imperceptibly. The shorty definitely knows what's he's talking about.

"But this is different! I can hear my blood rushing too, but it's more of the peaceful kind, like _shaaa..._ "

'Shaaa...?' The setter's trying to be as understanding as much as possible, but it's undeniable that the shrimpo's genius-speak was already getting on Kageyama's nerves.

"...Oh! And, you know how I get nervous before every match that my stomach becomes upset like _furu-furu~ furu-furu~_? I feel like that about this too, but it's not so unpleasant that I'd need to rush to the toilet—"

"Oi!" The King of the Court barked in irritation, "Just speak in a language that humans could understand!"

Being rubbed the wrong way, the fiery haired middle blocker was quick to retort "Don't you sometimes speak like that as well?!!"

"We're different. Unlike you, I'm perfectly intelligible." 

"Haah??!" Hinata exasperatedly interjected after he annoyedly clicked his tongue.

They continued to uselessly bicker with each other until Kageyama touched upon the sensitive subject,

"...If it still hasn't gone through your thick skull, just so you know, Yachi-san likes you. She told me herself. But she's reluctant to tell you, understandably, because you're a dumbass."

Stuck between indecision and the burst of energy before one moves to action, the chibisuki's brows twitched. He was thinking that the slight at the end was really unnecessary, but more importantly,

_'Yachi-san likes you.'_

Karasuno's number ten seriously didn't know. He didn't notice it nor even suspected it, so he guessed he really deserved to be called a dumbass right now. But that's a story for a another time because he's got conflicted feelings at the moment. How was one supposed to resolve all this... mess?

As an afterthought, Kageyama added, "Since you actually share mutual feelings for each other, I don't see why there should be a problem..."

The morose setter lost his calm when Hinata just stood still.

" _Aho ka?!_ What are you still doing here?! When do you plan to confess??! _Boke!!_ "

Flinching into action after realizing what the setter meant, the short middle blocker snapped and emotionally blathered,

"That's why I'm telling you to STOP PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH, _BAKA!!!_ "

The King of the Court's trademark murderous facade made an appearance and the little crow reflexively winched and got into this clumsy fighting stance but Hinata wasn't willing to be interrupted at the moment.

"I-I'm not afraid of you!"

Persisting despite Kageyama's spine-tingling glare, Hinata steeled himself and took on a more serious stance.

"Actually listen to me and let me finish talking before you say anything back!!"

"Well then start spitting it out, _heta kuso!_ "

"You're so dense! I'm telling you **I LIKE YOU, BAKAGEYAMA!!!** " the spirited chibi yelled everything in one breath.

It was so hot and everything was becoming hazy, Hinata wasn't sure if it was his skin boiling or his heart being at the verge of bursting.

Abruptly staying still, the dark haired setter's grumpiness fizzled out to be replaced by bewilderment... and that feeling where he didn't know what to do next, or maybe with himself...

.

.

.

Like?

It was such a foreign feeling for himself, or so the genius setter thought.

Hinata took advantage of Kageyama's puzzlement and continued explaining himself, fast, while he still could.

"I like you!

"I like you so much. I think I always did.

"How am I going to confess to Yachi-san when my heart's shouting for you?" The troubled middle blocker wearily finished.

"You actually thought you've figured out everything," Hinata laughed disdainfully, "You thought I liked Yachi-san back that's why you cornered me like this. Stupid! Idiot! You've never figured out anything at all!

As if flipping a page, the middle blocker sobbered up instantly, though his tone was still somber, "You know what I've figured out? 

"You like Yachi-san.

"And I tried to make you jealous.

"I acted like she's been getting my attention too even if it meant I'd be an eyesore to you.

"Starting with height, I already have so much I need to do to catch up to you, make my presence known to you,

"I'm here too!

"Always worrying about you overtaking me,

"Always yearning for you to toss to me,

"Wanting to be more than a decoy in your eyes,

"I'm going to spike every toss you send my way!

"But damn it, these are all inconvenient for me too!"

As he clutched his chest, Hinata realized that the more he spoke, the more he found it hard to breath. His heart pounded harshly against his ribcage. He can feel saltiness start to prick his nose.

"These feelings... Burdening you with things like this, I know you just want to stay in the court for as long you could, and I do too!

"And what's more, I didn't want you to find out like this!

"You're a rival!! I swore to myself that I'd defeat you, so how was I supposed to tell you--"

Hinata gulped down the lump of words in his throat. It was painful. He couldn't bring himself to look at Kageyama's face so his amber irises focused on the dusty ground as he allowed himself to give in to his system's sudden spike of anger.

"...The day you crushed my team was already frustrating enough, _chikusho me!_ Why must I lose to you again?!!"

When Hinata finished venting out everything, he didn't know who he was angrier at: Kageyama or himself?

Damn it. 

Damn it all!

Any moment now, rejection would come in an apathetic tone. The center of his world would walk away, possibly leaving him in pieces forever.

It's not a surprise. There's volleyball. And they're both guys.

Honestly, Hinata himself didn't know when he'd started harboring these feelings for the person in front of him.

Even though he didn't want to humiliate himself any more than he already did, tears fell from his eyes first before he felt the sting, and he hurried to dry them up so he could be the sunny middle blocker that he was as usual.

But it seems he couldn't stop. The tears just keep on coming, and he felt his head warm up, either from shame or from pouring out his heart all at once, the carrot head wasn't sure what's it all about anymore.

Seeing the energetic middle blocker defeatedly break down as he covered his face, Kageyama was becoming more and more convinced that the dumbass was wrong, especially since Tobio wasn't able to do anything else other than to listen as Hinata exposed himself like that.

Kageyama never noticed that he walked towards the smaller middle blocker as he entertained his thoughts.

...Jumping -- no, flying right in front of Kageyama's eyes and seeing Hinata pull off a serious play for the first time,

Someone always hitting the volleyball that he sets,

Someone trusting him 100%,

Someone being there instead of empty space when he tosses...

Kageyama knew.

The genius setter mindlessly muttered, "Just this once..." 

Hinata needed to be told that he's

"...Wrong,"

Hinata felt a warm hand grip his arm and gently pull it off of his tear-blotched face,

"Eh?"

"The one who lost..." the serious setter whispered, "...it's..."

Wait. 

Has Hinata always looked like this?

Look at those reddened cheeks. 

Kageyama suddenly had this odd urge to sink his teeth in them.

His eyes were pinkish because he had just cried. Stupid dumbass, he shouldn't have rubbed them too much.

Then the setter's gaze fell on those lips...

Irresistible.

"K-Kageyama-kun?"

S-So close. His face was so--

"...me." The King of the Court ever so tenderly brushed his lips against Hinata's.

Though a bit chapped, they were softer than he imagined.

Twitching, Hinata pulled away from Kageyama in shock.

Getting a hold of himself, he realized what he had just done.

There's no going back.

"Kuso..." Kageyama cursed under his breath.

This... 

What this is...

_Ai_

_\- love_

_\- to hold dear, a feeling of strong or constant affection for another_

And seeing that cutely confused and blushing face turn a brighter red, it was pretty much set in stone.

"Kuso," Kageyama uttered under his breath again as he straightened up, yelling at the fiery haired middle blocker,

"I WON'T LOSE NEXT TIME, HINATA BOKE!!!" 

He sprinted away and reflexively, Hinata dashed after him, not wanting to lose to Kageyama as always. They ran opposite the direction of the setting sun, as if to reverse the skies and make dawn from it, leaving only stirred dust in their wakes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_KAGEYAMA_

_31 Wins_

_1 draw_

_31 LOSSES_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**AFTERGLOW**

"Na, Kageyama, why are we running again?"

"It's your fault, _boke!!_ "

"Wah! How is it my fault?! _Baka, baka~_ " The shrimpo retorted with silly raspberries at the end.

Kageyama Tobio immediately stopped and so did Hinata Shouyou behind him, since the vertically-challenged middle blocker didn't want to crush his nose against Kageyama's rigid back anymore.

Remembering what he last said, Hinata widened the distance between them a bit more, preparing to avoid head crushing grips that come out of nowhere.

When Kageyama just stayed silent, eventually Hinata couldn't help being curious.

"Kageyama? What is it? Why did we--"

"Yachi-san," the genius setter cut him off, then started turning back to Hinata with a slight grimace on his face.

Kageyama couldn't help feeling guilty. He saw Yachi-san cry after all. She opened her heart to him. It makes him question himself a bit about allowing himself to feel even slightly happy from the unpredictable turn of events. 

Maybe that's why he couldn't name the fear he felt when Yachi-san told him about her feelings for Hinata.

...Maybe Kageyama's really had feelings for Hinata long before he was even aware of them.

In the end, he couldn't even do as much as keeping her secret.

Knowing that Yachi-san liked him, Hinata's face started to contort into a grimace too.

What happened was a whole other level different from what the novice manager would have wanted so...

"How are we going to tell her? Sh-Should we.....?"

"I-It can't be helped since I l-like you too,"

Annoyed at the silly happy face Hinata was pulling off, and at himself for suddenly feeling a rush of desire after seeing Hinata be giddy like that,

Kageyama destroyed it all with a single phrase,

"BOKE!!!"

And the bickering of the idiot duo ensued.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning of the next day of club activities was the most flat-out, awkward experience Hinata and Kageyama both had, ever.

**~~ALT END~~**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm a hardcore Kagehina shipper as well. I hope I did justice on them. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Much love~ ❤
> 
> Note:  
> Oh, and before I forget, I retrieved the definition of love from Merriam Webster's dictionary app XD (Just wanted to put this out there before it's too late and I get issues or somethin okay I'm blabbering bye!)

**Author's Note:**

> This whole story is inspired by a song from Bokura ga Ita entitled "Suki Dakara" :)


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